This invention concerns improvements relating to end caps for use on glazing bars.
Glazing bars for constructing roofs or conservatories generally comprise aluminium glazing beams, between which are mounted glazing panels, and upper and lower cappings to secure and seal the roofing panels and conceal the aluminium beams. Typical glazing beams are of inverted T-section with a channel shaped capping fitted to the cross bar of the T-section and an upper capping which has divergent sides and internally a means for connecting the upper capping to the top of the aluminium beam, usually in a press fit manner. Top ends of the glazing beams are concealed beneath ridge covers but their lower ends at the eaves of a conservatory structure are visible and need to be covered, for example by an end cap, to give a neat and attractive finish to the conservatory roof.
In order to attach the end cap to the aluminium glazing beam end, the end cap may be screwed directly to the aluminium glazing beam end, which is formed with a screw port for that purpose. However, water may travel from the outside of the end cap through to the glazing beam, via the screw hole in the end cap. Such an ingress of water is undesirable and may cause the screw to rust. Also access to the screw is difficult when the gutter is in place and some site locations of glazing bars will make it difficult to access the end screw.
An improved system for mounting an end cap onto the end of a glazing bar, which alleviates the problems associated with screwing the end cap directly to the glazing beam end, is disclosed in our co-pending UK patent application, GB 2321925A. This document discloses that a bracket, providing a pair of opposed ends or lugs, may be screwed into a screw port in the end of the glazing beam, the end cap being provided with a pair of cooperating internal formations, for example facing channels, whereby the opposed ends or lugs of the bracket fit slidingly into the channels of the end cap, thereby mounting the end cap to the end of the glazing beam. This system for attaching the end cap to the glazing beam end significantly reduces the possibility of any ingress of water from the outside of the end cap to the glazing beam, there being no screw hole in the end cap through to the glazing beam end. Generally, both the end caps and the brackets are formed by injection moulding processes.
However, there are problems associated with the end caps currently in use, in that the end caps themselves have to be moulded separately from the brackets, resulting in there being an increased number of mould parts required. This need for two separate sets of mould parts significantly increases the costs associated with manufacturing the end cap and bracket assemblies.
An object of this invention is to provide an improved end cap.
According to a first aspect of this invention there is provided an end cap system for a glazing system comprising a glazing beam, upper and lower cappings locatable on the beam, the end cap system comprising an end cap and a bracket for mounting the end cap on an end of the glazing beam, wherein the bracket and end cap are formed integrally, the bracket being separable from the end cap for attachment to the glazing beam.
According to a second aspect the present invention provides a glazing beam system comprising a glazing beam, upper and lower cappings locatable on the beam, an end cap therefor, means for mounting the end cap on an end of the glazing beam in the form of a bracket securable to the glazing beam end, wherein the bracket and end cap are formed integrally, the bracket being separable from the end cap for attachment to the glazing beam end.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the end cap has an aperture therethrough. It is further preferable that the bracket is initially attached to the end cap within the aperture in the front face of the end cap. Preferably, the bracket is attached to the end cap by means of spaced frangible links, whereby in use, to separate the bracket from the end cap, the links are broken.
The end cap and bracket are preferably formed by injection moulding. By having the bracket linked to the end cap in its aperture this facilitates onepiece moulding.
The aperture of the end cap is conveniently closed by an attachment that may be in the form of a decorative moulding. The attachment is preferably releasably securable to the end cap. Preferably the end cap front face has a recess to receive the decorative attachment. It is further preferable that the shape and size of the recess in the front face of the end cap corresponds to the shape and size of the decorative attachment to be releasably secured therein.
It is preferable that the decorative attachment has at its edge a continuous lip or spaced tabs notched or ribbed to snap fit to the edge of the aperture.
The provision of decorative attachments is advantageous in being able to provide customers with design selection. Naturally, it is to the customer""s advantage to have a wide range of moulded designs on the front of their end caps to choose from, when planning their conservatory or glazed roof. Up until now, to meet the customer""s requirement for a variety of designs from which to choose, manufacturers of end caps have had to make a new mould for each end cap, for each decorative design required. This adds considerably to the costs involved in manufacturing decorative end caps, in that the mould for the whole of the end cap has to be different for each design to be applied to the front of the end cap, even though the only difference between two decorative end caps may be the actual moulded design on the front of the end cap, for example a Lancashire rose design as opposed to a Yorkshire rose design.
Furthermore, due to the one-piece nature of the decorative end cap, once the design has been chosen by the customer it is not possible to change the design on the front of the cap without changing the whole of the end cap.
Preferably, the bracket is securable to the end of the glazing beam by means of a screw through the bracket into a screw port of the glazing beam. The bracket and the end cap preferably have mutually engageable formations, whereby they slidingly interfit. One of the bracket and the end cap preferably provides a pair of facing channels and the other has a pair of oppositely facing lugs or the like, which are a sliding fit in the channels. More preferably still, the bracket provides the oppositely facing lugs or the like, and the end cap provides the pair of facing channels, whereby the oppositely facing lugs or the like of the bracket are a sliding fit in the channels of the end cap. Having the bracket screw hidden by the end cap provides a more aesthetically pleasing appearance at glazing bar ends.
Preferably, the end cap has a rim with sufficient depth to extend rearwards over the ends of the upper and lower cappings. It is further preferable that there is a stop means provided in at least one channel of the end cap, to ensure that the end cap locates in the correct position relative to the end of the glazing beam when it is mounted thereon. More preferably still, the end cap has a rim that is deeper at its top, whereby the end cap when fitted covers the end of the upper capping. This allows additional fixing from the top by means of a screw through the rim.
To facilitate fitting of end caps of the invention the bracket can be fitted to a glazing bar in the factory or on site, leaving the end cap to be slid into place, once the glazing panels and top capping are in position. Conveniently, the end cap can be removed simply if necessary, without access to the screw securing the bracket being required.